Barkley Picks the Thunder

[Down Under]

I've never seen him less convinced of a pick

[99 Problems]

Yer solid take by Chuck. Didn't he think Manu was from South East Asia?

[TampaDude]

If Chuck picked OKC, it pretty much guarantees a Spurs win.

[cariocaz]

I think that on these talk shows they flip a coin and someone has to take one team and another guy has to take the other team. Otherwise what will they talk about? Much of it is pure "theater", just trying to stir people up and get a thread like this one going.

[polandprzem]

Yea many here bashing Barkley etc.
And just when the spurs lose first game all gonna use clliffjumping route

[polandprzem]

OKC is a good team, and Barkley can say whatever he wants. Ibaka isn't going to dominate LMA. But Ibaka/Kanter/Adams is a load in the middle. I predict a lot of screaming in game threads about stopping those guys.

Just one year ago, Tim battled the Clippers' two monsters, largely by himself. I've said it before, but I think it was one of the most heroic performances I've ever witnessed, and it's a damn shame that it got overshadowed by the fact that the Spurs lost that series. Tim is a legend-class player, and my mind just won't accept the possibility that one year has taken too much out of him. I think he will have to dig deep, but I am absolutely hopeful that he will find a way to do just that. IMO, Barkley's biggest mistake there was leaving Tim Duncan out of his calculations.

Like

Like button should be on this board

[TheDoctor]

When people finally internalize that these shows are meant to entertain more than anything, that there's a script to follow, their lives would be more pleasurable and relaxing.

[hater]

Yea many here bashing Barkley etc.
And just when the spurs lose first game all gonna use clliffjumping route

Spot on. I see a very very close battle until Spurs wear them down. Butt meanwhile most spursfans will cliffjump as usual.

[GSH]

Yea many here bashing Barkley etc.
And just when the spurs lose first game all gonna use clliffjumping route

LOL... if the Spurs lose Game 1, I'm not going to jump off the cliff. But I'm going to stand at the edge and look down at the rocks. There would still be time to make adjustments, but the Spurs should pretty well know who OKC is. They really, really need to win the first one at home.

[hater]

Disagree. Losing game 1 would not doom the series. The spurs still should be able to wear them down of course unless we get injured along the way.

[polandprzem]

LOL... if the Spurs lose Game 1, I'm not going to jump off the cliff. But I'm going to stand at the edge and look down at the rocks. There would still be time to make adjustments, but the Spurs should pretty well know who OKC is. They really, really need to win the first one at home.

Thing is many Spurs fans like to be y and laugh at other opinions that say Spurs not gonna win the series. I bet if I look at the previous year vs Clipps it's the same situation. Bash Barkley for example and then cry that Spurs sucks.
So I don't like it and I said it.

I'm confident in Spurs in this matchup but not gonna laugh at barkley for his opinion. It may well go the way he says as pop gonna make Ibaka beat us. And it's possible.

[cutewizard]

Barkley will eat his words..........

[cariocaz]

When people finally internalize that these shows are meant to entertain more than anything, that there's a script to follow, their lives would be more pleasurable and relaxing.

Perhaps that's the point. Some "people" don't want a "relaxing" life. They think it is more pleasurable to get all hot and bothered about what some guy says about their team!

[.G.]

I think that on these talk shows they flip a coin and someone has to take one team and another guy has to take the other team. Otherwise what will they talk about? Much of it is pure "theater", just trying to stir people up and get a thread like this one going.

The-one-and-only-answer-Johnny-tell'em-what-they-won!

[.G.]

When people finally internalize that these shows are meant to entertain more than anything, that there's a script to follow, their lives would be more pleasurable and relaxing.

Agreed; however, there is nothing entertaining about kenny and ernie.

Shaq and Chuck allow themselves to be laughed at and appear to generally have a good sense of humor.

The other two imbeciles are a different story. They belong on a Face the Nation version of ITNBA.

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

The only player that scares me is Kanter as he's too tall for West to guard him. I guess Westbrook can be scary too but hopefully Green pulls off a great defensive performance. As for Ibaka, Aldridge will own him, and Duncan is way too smart for that pirate caveman Adams.

[TD 21]

What post players do the Thunder have? Kanter, sure. Ibaka doesn't post up much at all (in the regular season, post-ups accounted for 3% of his plays). Steven Adams isn't some monster in the post; if OKC wants to post him up against Duncan/Aldridge I'll gladly take that over Westbrook/KD having the ball. KD is a good post player but it's definitely not a huge part of his game and again, if he wants to post up Kawhi over and over again I'll happily take that rather than him running PnRs.

The Spurs post up far more often than the Thunder. Aldridge has the 2nd most post-ups in the league only behind Brook Lopez. Post-ups account for nearly 40% of Diaw's plays. Post-ups are a bigger part of Kawhi's game than they are KD's. Duncan and West both post up quite a bit. Boban probably won't get a lot of playing time but when he does, he's a great post-up player.

If Barkley is just looking at post play, not sure why he'd pick the Thunder. Unless he's literally only looking at how Kanter will post up the Spurs' bench bigs or something.

Exactly.

I know he's on air almost entirely for entertainment purposes, but still, TNT should be embarrassed at just how uninformed and antiquated him (and the panel in general) are.

There's nothing wrong with picking them, but as usual with him, his reasoning and biased, are. There's always some reason why he's not picking the Spurs. This time around, he's resorted to flat out making things up.

Ibaka is a spacer and Adams is a roller. The former is a poor rebounder and the latter is a one way (offensive) one. Kanter is obviously a potential issue in both areas, but as long as Duncan and Aldridge, defend him (as I suspect they will), they should be able to do a decent enough job. Also, whether it's his poor defense, the fact that he can't really play next to Adams or a combination of both, he averages 21 mpg. Maybe he's closer to 25 mpg in this series, but he's not a 30+ mpg player.

[HarlemHeat37]

Barkley said Portland and Memphis were the best teams in the West, last year

It's 2016, everybody should know that genetic lottery winners are the worst "analysts"..

[DPG21920]

Barkley said Portland and Memphis were the best teams in the West, last year

It's 2016, everybody should know that genetic lottery winners are the worst "analysts"..

He called the Mavs le tho..

[Dro210]

Agreed; however, there is nothing entertaining about kenny and ernie.

Shaq and Chuck allow themselves to be laughed at and appear to generally have a good sense of humor.

The other two imbeciles are a different story. They belong on a Face the Nation version of ITNBA.

Nah dude, EJ is awesome. He's always been the glue guy of Inside. He's gonna be hard to replace when he steps away.

[GSH]

Barkley said Portland and Memphis were the best teams in the West, last year

It's 2016, everybody should know that genetic lottery winners are the worst "analysts"..

The fact is that, around here, analysts always suck if they don't pick the Spurs to win it all - every season, from the beginning. Barkley's an entertainer. Shaq is ing P.T. Barnum. They don't care if you're pissed off, as long as you buy a ticket and some popcorn.

, Ernie Johnson clearly isn't a "genetic lottery winner" - does that make him a better analyst that Barkley? It must, since "genetic lottery winners are the worst" - that means that Ernie, by definition, is better. Or maybe you think Ric Renner is a better analyst. He clearly isn't a genetic lottery winner, plus he's a Spurs homer. (I love Renner, BTW - hair and all. He's a goofy bas , but he's OUR goofy bas .)

Television is full of ty analysts. The Internet is full of ty analysts. Magazines and newspapers, ditto. But Barkley stands out to you?

[HarlemHeat37]

The fact is that, around here, analysts always suck if they don't pick the Spurs to win it all - every season, from the beginning. Barkley's an entertainer. Shaq is ing P.T. Barnum. They don't care if you're pissed off, as long as you buy a ticket and some popcorn.

, Ernie Johnson clearly isn't a "genetic lottery winner" - does that make him a better analyst that Barkley? It must, since "genetic lottery winners are the worst" - that means that Ernie, by definition, is better. Or maybe you think Ric Renner is a better analyst. He clearly isn't a genetic lottery winner, plus he's a Spurs homer. (I love Renner, BTW - hair and all. He's a goofy bas , but he's OUR goofy bas .)

Television is full of ty analysts. The Internet is full of ty analysts. Magazines and newspapers, ditto. But Barkley stands out to you?

1. I don't give a who picks the Spurs to win, I never have, I've always said it's silly that people here get mad about it If I cared about it, I would be more annoyed if they picked the Spurs, since it probably means the Spurs are probably going to lose

2. Ernie Johnson isn't paid to be an analyst, he doesn't give opinions, he's the host

3. Most of the people you're referring to aren't paid to be basketball analysts

4. Yes, Barkley is probably the worst(only ahead of Shaq, actually, on 2nd thought)

[DPG21920]

Nah dude, EJ is awesome. He's always been the glue guy of Inside. He's gonna be hard to replace when he steps away.

I agree - I have no idea how someone can hate on EJ. He's incredible. I think Shaq should go. I liked it so much better when it was just EJ, Kenny & Chuck. Shaq adds nothing to me. He has the worst takes, tries too hard to be funny (and I like Shaq) and just is not good on TV IMO.

[.G.]

Nah dude, EJ is awesome. He's always been the glue guy of Inside. He's gonna be hard to replace when he steps away.

To each their own...

[Dro210]

I agree - I have no idea how someone can hate on EJ. He's incredible. I think Shaq should go. I liked it so much better when it was just EJ, Kenny & Chuck. Shaq adds nothing to me. He has the worst takes, tries too hard to be funny (and I like Shaq) and just is not good on TV IMO.

I hear that... I thought the same when he first stared, I didn't think he'd last, but I've grown to love him being on there just as much as anybody these days.

To each their own...

No doubt